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Latest update from D.C. police

Obama on Navy Yard shooting

D.C. police chief describes possible other shooters

“We have no known motive at this stage,” D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray said at an afternoon press conference. “We don’t have any reason at this stage to suspect terrorism, but certainly it has not been ruled out.”

For much of the day, police said they did not know if Alexis had acted alone, but in the evening, Chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department Cathy Lanier said they now believed he was the lone gunman. Because of that, the extensive security measures in the area were eased.

“We do now feel comfortable that we have the single and sole person responsible for the loss of life inside the base today,” Lanier said.

Reports said that the dead gunman had been dressed all in black and carrying three firearms, including a semi-automatic. Hewlett-Packard subsequently confirmed that Alexis was employed by a subcontractor of the company. Authorities said he used a valid pass to enter the base, and the Wall Street Journal reported that he had secret security clearance through his employer.

At an afternoon press conference, Lanier had said, “We potentially have two other shooters that we have not located at this point.” The department later announced it had identified one of them, who had been described as “a white male in the tan outfit,” and said that he is no longer “a suspect or person of interest.” At the time, she described the one remaining possible suspect as a black male wearing a “military-style” uniform and asked for help from the public to locate him.

Gray confirmed that 13 people were dead, including the gunman, with several others badly wounded. The FBI had now taken over the investigation, Lanier said.

Gray said that “as far as we know, this is an isolated incident. … We don’t know of any other installations that are involved in this.”

On Capitol Hill, the Senate was locked down for part of the day as a result of the shooting, with no one allowed to enter or leave the Senate complex. The move was out of an “abundance of caution,” said Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer, explaining in a statement “we do not have any information to suggest the Senate, its members, or staff are in any danger.”

Earlier, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) postponed scheduled votes, recessing for the day in light of the shooting.

A jittery Washington seized on reports of a commotion outside of the White House on Monday evening, but the noise — reminiscent of gun shots — stemmed from firecrackers. The man suspected of throwing them over a White House fence was arrested, but several nearby blocks were shut down. Pedestrians were still allowed through.

Three civilians, one metropolitan police officer, and one base officer were among those shot and wounded, Metropolitan Police spokeswoman Saray Leon said.

“There is no indication this was a terrorist event,” said Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), who plans to hold a moment of silence Tuesday on the House floor in memory of those killed in the shooting. “We cannot know what happened yet, but I hope we will withhold judgment until we do.”

At the White House, President Barack Obama condemned the deadly attack as a “cowardly act,” vowing that federal and local law enforcement officials would work together to hold accountable those responsible.

“We are confronting yet another mass shooting, and today it happened on a military installation in our nation’s capital,” Obama said ahead of a speech Monday marking the fifth anniversary of the 2008 economic crash. Obama said the victims “are men and women who were going to work, doing their job, protecting all of us. They are patriots.”

The president called Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to offer sympathy to those affected by the shooting and to praise Navy and law enforcement officials who handled the incident, the White House said. Obama also spoke with FBI Director James Comey, expressing thanks for the Bureau’s work and receiving a briefing on the state of the investigation.

He was briefed several times throughout the morning on the shooting by Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco and Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco, the White House said. Vice President Joe Biden has been kept up to date on shooting by his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, according to Biden’s office.

An evening White House performance at which Obama was to speak was postponed. The president ordered flags lowered to half-staff, effective through sunset Friday.

Mabus, speaking to reporters, said counseling teams have been assembled for those coping with the tragedy, and called the incident “an attack on all the Navy family.”

“[We] have mobilized all resources that we have at our command to make sure we support the victims, their families and all the Navy personnel who were at Washington Navy Yard today when this tragedy occurred,” he said.